Selecting Your Wedding Gown

Selecting a wedding gown is one of the most important events in any woman’s life. Her wedding celebrates the start of a new beginning and is a celebration filled with tradition. It can be a magical time that begins a dream come true. The wedding dress is a symbol of love and romance; it represents the expectations of the bride.

History on the wedding dress

The wedding dress was made popular by Queen Victoria, for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 where she wore a simple white dress made by hand and trimmed with Honitan Lace. It was a style that became very popular the both the rich and poor.

When the sewing machine was invented in 1846 it encouraged the use of more elaborate trims on the gowns, which lead to them being heavily decorated with various embellishments such as braid, beads, pleats and lace which is still being done today.

What to wear?

When selecting a dress style, “Traditional or modern?” is the question you need to ask. Most bridal boutiques will stock both traditional and contemporary wedding dresses, but do make a firm decision early as to what you will be wearing, because your bridesmaids will need matching fashions.

Try to get your wedding gown and the bridesmaid’s dresses from the same boutique. It is usually best to let one boutique supply the gown, headdress, veil or tiara. Some brides choose to wear their mother's wedding dress or a treasured family heirloom.

The wedding gown may also be borrowed or hired, or the bride may prefer to wear an ethnic wedding gown from her homeland. She can also lovingly sew her own wedding gown or have one made if she chooses. Searching for that perfect wedding gown will be a lot easier if you know the different styles available.

There are may colors of fabric to choose from. It is now common for the bride not only to wear the traditional white, she may choose to go with a color such as red, blue, or even green, ultimately the color should suit you. Choosing what to wear can be an enjoyable task if you give yourself plenty of time.

You must focus at a time like this, and you must do your homework. Keep in mind that you maybe buying an outfit in December to wear in July or perhaps the other way around - so take the weather into consideration. Whether you choose to buy a ready made dress, hire or have one made the best places to start looking is in magazines and also on the internet.

Some Superstitions

A sign of good luck – The dressmaker if she was happily married would sew a strand of her hair into the hem of the gown to bring happiness to the couple.

A small horseshoe would be sewn into the hem or the waist stay, (the horseshoe would be silver or a piece of cardboard covered with blue satin ribbon) this was supposed to ward of evil spirits and bring good luck.